Follow by Email

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Passion of the Passion Fruit

Ladies and Gentlemen,
This is a half of a passion fruit. They grow all over here, and are considered a delicacy. They are somewhat expensive (about 100yen each) and they look a lot like a big ripe plum on the outside. They are a beautiful deep purple color, but they are hard unlike the look alike plum. It feels light and kind of fuzzy and smells a bit like sour feet when uncut.
Sol my friend Kim gave this one to me yesterday as a gift, she has lived here a long time and is a great friend! We decided to cut it up and have it for dessert lastnight. Once we cut it open, it was apparent that this is no ordinary fruit. The outer shell is hard and was a bit like cutting into a gourd as far as texture goes. Once opened, the yellow/green juice oozed out along with a few of the seeds. The inside is just that, the fruit coated seeds all of which is edible, just not the pink along the inside. The taste results: a big ole NO in our house. While very pretty and wonderfully fragrant when opened, it is deceptively sour! Like SOUR! There is a bit of sweetness in there but it's mostly sour! The black seeds are crunchy and add a different texture and the yellow/green coating is a bit slimy but not to a gross point. We all agreed that is should be used sparingly as a flavor agent, as in passion fruit flavored...scones or something, but not eaten alone. It is also a bit acidic so if you have a sore tooth, might want to wait this one out! I recommend trying them as our tastes are not the end all be all, they can be purchased around this time of year in specialty produce sections at most stores. Have fun and, Don't say you don't like it until you have tried it!